Dear _______________, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to you for purchasing my market goat this year at the Sonoma County Fair Auction. I am glad that there are people in our community who realize the importance of agriculture in today’s world and are willing to invest in its future. This is my first year showing an animal at the fair ,but I am excited to continue growing with the many experiences to come in the following years. I have gained knowledge from how to properly fit and groom in addition to learning about responsibility, time management, public speaking, and keeping records of my expenses , hours and income. On top of that, I also learned volumes about how the FFA works and what its real purpose is. The FFA isn’t
Showing goats has been apart of my life for about four years. It all started when my mom asked me if I wanted to show goats and I immediately said yes! Ever since, showing has impacted my life in many ways and has taught me many life skills that will follow me forever. But what really does showing mean to me? Showing is something I really love and will do for as long as I can till I graduate high school. It has taught me, its not all about the buckles or banners. It’s about hard work and the fun you have put into it. Showing animals has brought me out of my shell and I have made many friends along the way. I have grown in my FFA chapter and my 4-H club. The friendships will last forever and its amazing how many friendships bonds I have made just because we have common interest and that we show the same animals. Showing is something I’ve also really been into and something every year I succeed in by learning new skills. This past season I won showman ship at the county show. I was super excited because I won my first buckle and
My mom and dad taught me to never give up and to work hard and be dedicated to the things I have passion for and success will come in one form or another. Working summers on an orchard, participating in 4H and FFA, and being a three sport athlete taught that valuable life lesson. A red ribbon at the fair in fourth grade prompted me to start JKO Clubs Lambs the following year. I breed and raise lambs for my 4H and FFA projects and sell to local 4H kids. I can’t keep up with the purchase demand and I earned grand champion in market class with my lambs at ten of the last twelve fairs that I competed. This did not come without hard work, trial and error, and lots of tears along the way. Being very small in build, I was told by many when I
To the veterans that are still with us today. I want you all to know that we do the pledge of
The interactions I had with the beautiful animals fostered a fascination that would stay with me for years. Despite this passion, I was never able to ride or own a horse because of the expenses and attention they require. But at the age of twelve my dad signed me up to volunteer at HETRA, giving me the incredible opportunity to work closely with the animals I loved so much. Although I was concerned about jumping into something that I had never done before, I soon found my confidence. The volunteers and instructors made me feel welcome and helped me learn the all of the procedures.
Feeling a bit uninspired? Yeah, I know the feeling. But I also know the solution! It is five simple letters LACMA. That’s right, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is the perfect place to conjure your creative juices. LACMA is one of the premiere museums in Southern California, offering an array of paintings and sculptures ranging from Modern Art to German expressionism. There’s nothing better than spending a luxurious Sunday perusing the amazing art within the seven different buildings LACMA has to offer. This “tour de art” as we will call it, should only be broken up with a visit to the museum’s restaurant, Pentimento, which offers brunch every Sunday from 11-3pm. I know I’ve inspired you to get inspired but, what is more inspiring is that
When you think of FFA, you think of cows, plows, and sows, but it is so much more. Growing up with a background of agriculture has tremendously impacted the way I have grown up. Both of my grandparents raised horses, which invoked my love for riding horses. My maternal grandparents raised pigs and beef as well which allowed me to broaden my background. I used to live on a dairy farm where we bottled our own milk. I also help out on our grain farm, and I milk at a dairy farm. With all of my experience in agriculture I knew that FFA would be a good choice for an activity to become involved in. Since joining the middle school quiz bowl team in 8th grade, I have been heavily involved in agriculture. Although I was later than
Hi folks, thanks for the response to my previous blog. However, my slothful ways have caught up to me and need to finish this blog that’s a few weeks overdue for the Minnesota State Fair. Although, I enjoyed my time at the Minnesota State Fair, I didn’t get a chance to go to the Renaissance Fair as I was worn down from the fair and was tired of hordes of people. However, I was able to go to the Fair and partake in the music, the culture, and the delicious food. Although my dental regime was not on par for the toothache that commenced after eating those sweet awesome cookies. I will explain later in the blog, by all means read further on some tips for you to go to next year’s fair.
I raised commercial heifers and steers for several years, some being successful and some not as much. But all those years and activites ago, I never imagined I would be have taken on the challenges and leadership roles I have been audacious enough to face. The National FFA Organization is my most prideful youth-led organization I am apart of. I entered the FFA under the Diboll FFA Chapter my freshman year and am thankful for all of the opportunities and experiences I have received. Every year I have participated in different competitions that have developed my leadership skills and will help me in my future for career and life success. I also am an exhibitor in major and county livestock shows. I grew up raising cattle for the local county fair every year and it has been something I have truly loved to do. I have shown heifers and steers throughout my FFA career leaving with a banner almost every year. After so many years of competing and getting my name out, this is what I am mostly known for in my local show and
My ultimate goal is to work with exotic zoo animals, specifically working at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. Once I feel that it is the appropriate time, I would love to have the chance to open up my own mixed practice, focusing on lower prices and free clinics for people who have a hard time paying for the medical care of their animals; as well as work with local farmers and members of 4-H and FFA. I would also love to find time in my busy schedule to donate some of my time to local shelters when working at the Animal Kingdom. As well as once I open my own clinic, to work with the shelters so they have the opportunity to get the medical treatment for their animals at a low charge or no charge at all. As if this wasn’t enough to keep me busy I would like to own a small farm with a garden and a few different types of livestock to help educate the public on 4-H, FFA, livestock, and the agriculture community. One of the ways I plan on achieving the goal of educating the public is by having “A Day at The Farm” where the public can come and meet members of 4-H and FFA and learn firsthand about animals and the opportunities these organizations give to their members. I would also love to have the opportunity to travel to Africa and work with some of the animals on the preservations, and with some of the locals and help their livestock. This career
Is it humane to show at the county fair? Is it worse that kids in 4-H are making money for showing off projects that are actually animals with their own rights to live free? It is not inhumane for kids to show and sell animals at the county fair because those kids are learning what farming is like in that aspect. They are also working with those animals for very long periods of time to get them to learn to do what the child wants them to do. The animals are also known as projects because the kids are doing book work and learning about the animal as a learning tool. The money the kids make from showing and selling these animals is just a reward for all of the hard work these kids put into teaching the animals to do what the kids want them to do. It is also to try to get them to stay in 4-H because as long as they are in 4-H or FFA the kids are learning to work and become productive citizens later in life.
I never will understand this day to the fair and what all happened, I don’t think anyone will. I just know that one animal ruined a month for me. It was the week right before fair, and all I did was walk my cow. It was the first time ever showing a cow, my brother convinced me that it would be a fun learning experience. That didn’t happen at all for me when I walked into that show ring with a 1,100 pound steer. I was up at 4:00 a.m. the morning of the show, and I was ready to go wash my cows and get them ready for the show.
In 2014, “groundwater makes up 60 percent of California’s water use” (Governor Brown Changes, 2014).
What I’m involved in with FFA is showing pigs, heifers, steers, livestock judging, and radio speaking, and volunteering to help out at FFA events being held by Rio Vista FFA. I am currently an FFA officer. I hold the position of the sentinel and will be taking the vice president position next year. I have done extremely well in my three years of showing animals, with my first
Ever since forty plus years ago Agriculturalists have shown a variety of show cattle and ran ranches with them. I showed cattle for a few years throughout my FFA experience. Cattle have played a huge role in our society feeding families and other people who reside in this world. Their effect on human culture is something that we take much pride in when raising our cattle whether it is for companion or meat products. Previous cattle showman know and strive to achieve the ultimate goal: winning grand champion. This reward is earned by having the best show calf in the ring to the judge’s perspective. In order to reach this goal, the exhibitor must use proper feeding methods and show technique. (Insert thesis here.)
Ever since I was a child I knew that I wanted to work with animals. Horses, in particular, have always fascinated me. After much begging, pleading, years of convincing, and always working hard to save up money, I convinced my parents to allow me to buy a horse. To me, Indie was the most beautiful quarter horse I could have ever dreamed of getting. Since our purchase of Indie, we have acquired another horse, Sherman, and a pony, Tucker. Although the horses have always been hard work, they were worth every sweaty hot summer evening of mucking out the stalls and frigid winter mornings of carrying water to the trough in order to avoid freezing our hoses. After all, I used to dream of being a veterinarian and helping all kinds of animals in some way.